Flip to Mayor Harry Stump (in the middle) and James Maurer (second from the right) sitting with the city's first all Socialist City Council, Reading, PA, 1929.Close Window
Credit: The Historical Society of Berks County Museum and Library
After leaving school at the age of thirteen and working a number of jobs, Reading's J. Henry Stump (1880 - 1949) joined the Socialist party in 1902 and soon emerged as a leader, becoming president of the Federated Trade Council in 1914. In 1918, Stump became the business manager of the Labor Advocate, a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Party of Berks County, and in 1927 was elected mayor of Reading. From 1929-31, Reading had both an American Socialist mayor and majority on its city council.
